By Alex Consiglio
The Toronto Star
When Ed Robertson smokes a perfect piece of meat, he makes sure to take a picture and send it to his longtime friend Tyler Stewart.
“It’s probably what we communicate about more than anything else when we’re not making music together, ” laughs Robertson, wedged into a booth at a Toronto diner, shoulder to shoulder with Stewart.
“How to slow cook meat most effectively, that’s what we focus on, ” adds Stewart, also laughing.
The Barenaked Ladies, known for their jocular attitudes, have refound their footing with their latest album Grinning Streak, their second since a tumultuous split with founding member Steven Page in 2009.
After 25 years, the last four spent overcoming the split, the band is again at peace, comfortable enough to start Grinning Streak with “Limits, ” a funky, almost psychedelic sound none would pin as Barenaked-esque.
“It’s a bit of a statement putting that song on there first, ” says Stewart, the band’s drummer.
“As soon as we played that song back in the studio, Ty said: ‘First song on the record, it’s gotta be the first song on the record, ‘” lead singer Robertson chimes in. “It’s exciting.”
With a mix of new sounds, familiar melodies and deeper lyrics than usual, the guys feel they’ve crafted a record that tells a story of hope, love and dogged determination to push forward.
The guys have been around long enough to remember listening to vinyl records as a whole, even flipping them over to take in tracks five to nine after listening to the first four, says Robertson.
“That’s important to us, but at the same time we know most people just listen to records on shuffle, ” says Robertson, who feels the record has a few standout songs that can draw digital downloads.
“Not many people even buy records anymore, ” adds Stewart, adding it doesn’t faze him.
The band isn’t chasing “hypothetical success” – they’ve already had it and crafted Grinning Streak as a creative outlet, in between time with their families in Toronto.
Stewart is coaching his 14-year-old daughter’s hockey team and Robertson jokes he takes time to go to a lot of “movie premieres and restaurant openings” with his family.
“Yeah, the restaurant opening for me is the pizza store so that I can get my starving daughter a slice, ” laughs Stewart.
Robertson says he’s mostly just “a taxi” for his kids, one just entering university, and likes to gather them all for epic barbecues in his backyard.
This excites Stewart, who begins reminiscing about the best meat they’ve ever cooked; it is, after all, what the two long-time friends mostly talk about.
“We both are barbecue aficionados. I’ll often get photos of a perfectly smoked pork shoulder saying, ‘Look at this!'” says Stewart, making Robertson laugh again.
The guys aren’t planning any type of 25-year anniversary tribute. There’s no mention of the milestone on their new album, no anniversary concerts in the works – it’s not what their comeback is about.
It’s about being comfortable, at peace as a four-piece band without Page, trying out new sounds to return to what they’ve always been good at: putting on amazing live shows.
Their live shows of little-known songs shot them to stardom in the U.S. in the 1990s and remain an integral part of their identity now. Grinning Streak is all about moving forward and not looking back.
“If you’re good at playing live, you’ll always have a reason to be around, ” says Robertson.
“It’s certainly not a time to pat ourselves on the back and say, ‘Hey we’ve been here for 25 years so you bring the party to us.'”